Báo cáo khoa học: " Contextual Analysis in Word-for-word MT"

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The difficulty is not so much one of word order as of syntactic and semantic ambiguity of individual words. Regardless of the treatment of the problem of inflected forms, for example, it is impossible in the majority of instances to identify the grammatical case of Russian nouns. In addition to syntactic ambiguity, multiple equivalents must be assigned to a large percentage of words (to an estimated 45% of the running words in a physics text). The chief disadvantage of word-for-word MT, then, is its prolixity: the reader is confronted with a burdensome multiplicity of potential equivalents (syntactic and semantic) for...

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[Mechanical Translation, vol.3, no.2, November 1956; pp. 40-41] Contextual Analysis in Word-for-word MT Kenneth E. Harper, Slavic Department, University of California, Los Angeles general, there are no serious problems of syn- EXPERIMENTS with word-for-word MT of tax which cannot be resolved by reference to the Russian scientific literature have given results g rammatical features of pre- or post-words. which, except for such limited purposes as in- dexing, are far from satisfactory. The diffi- b) Semantic clarification. The correct culty is not so much one of word order as of English equivalents of most of the "glue words" syntactic and semantic ambiguity of individual (especially prepositions and conjunctions) can words. Regardless of the treatment of the pro- be found only through contextual analysis. The blem of inflected forms, for example, it is im- programming of such analysis should be based possible in the majority of instances to identify on the observed behavior of these words in ac- the grammatical case of Russian nouns. In tual conditions. Thus, the meaning of the con- addition to syntactic ambiguity, multiple equi- junction "i", which has at least four equivalents valents must be assigned to a large percentage (and, but, also, even) can be pinpointed in more of words (to an estimated 45% of the running than 90% of all occurrences by simple reference words in a physics text). The chief disadvantage to the grammatical category of contiguous words; of word-for-word MT, then, is its prolixity: the the pronoun-adjective "ikh", meaning "(of) their" reader is confronted with a burdensome multi- or "(of) them", can be similarly resolved. It plicity of potential equivalents (syntactic and should be stressed that completely unpredict- semantic) for several words in each sentence. able and unexpected relationships can be found The chief cause of this ambiguity is the fact between structural context and meaning, and that each word is examined in isolation, as a that the barest kind of routine comparison re- discrete item. The human translator operates sults in a high (although not absolute) degree of with the tremendous advantage of something accuracy in the determination of meaning. called "context". Broadly speaking, context Non-structural clarification of meaning takes signifies environment: surrounding words, sen- several forms. In the first place, techniques of tences, and even the subject area itself. Investi- MT lexicography need to be developed, i.e., the gation shows that restricted contextual analysis, science of choosing the best "cover-all" target performed routinely, can resolve most of the language equivalent from a group of relatively problems of ambiguity. Remarkable clarifica- synonymous equivalents, and the selection of tion is attained even when the comparison of a equivalents based on observed behavior, rather given ambiguous word x is limited to the imme- than upon the evidence of a dictionary. (Thus, diately contiguous word in the sentence (the in the area of physics the Russian izmenenie pre-x or post-x word). Without attempting to may always be found to equate with "change", rearrange the word order of the Russian sen- although Bray's technical dictionary lists nine tence, one can obtain the following by compari- fairly distinct meanings.) In effect, what is son of each ambiguous word with the coded needed are true ideoglossaries, based on actual, grammatical features or semantic class of con- rather than potential, behavior. tiguous words: The application of contextual analysis offers a) Syntactic clarification. The ambiguity of great potentialities for semantic clarification. case forms in nouns can be reduced to an insig- Operating again on the basis of observation, we nificant percentage, and proper English equiva- can construct and code word classes which lents can be supplied in the form of English pre- cause contiguous words to behave in a predict- positions as demanded by the genitive, dative, able manner. Thus, the preposition po has ten and instrumental cases. Such prepositions can potential possible equivalents when followed by be withheld in translation when the requirements a noun in the dative case; by reference to pre- of Russian grammar demand it. Participles determined noun classes we can reduce the and adverbs which are indistinguishable in form number of choices to one in a given instance. from adjectives, can, be given the correct equi- The necessity of treating each new combination valent; the comparative degree of adjectives as an "idiom" is eliminated. It is also possible and adverbs can be adequately handled. In
C ontextual Analysis 41 syntax and semantics which can be realized to pinpoint the meaning of many nouns which with the aid of machine techniques will result are ambiguous even within an ideoglossary by reference to the class of the accompanying in the discovery of usable principles of associ- adjective, or to specified key words in the title ation, so vital in the operation of what is called or opening sentences of the text. "contextual analysis". There is no question that the kind of study in